what if?

For the Poor

One of my readers, Greg, wondered how exactly conservative ideas benefit the poor.

From Africa, an explanation superior to any that I could give!

Private entrepreneurship is necessary for economic development. This is because it is the discovery of new resources, wants, knowledge and means of production to meet human wants. Central government entrepreneurship has rarely been very successful in development and has left many countries in Africa with a legacy of white elephant project and huge foreign debt.

Politicians and civil servants lack knowledge and incentives to discover the right knowledge. Instead of meeting people’s demands and informing them of what is possible, they tend to employ their energies to finding opportunities to line their pockets. Profit chasing individuals, on the other hand, tend to do what market demands and adjust to evolving circumstances in the course of economic change.

Hat tip:  Booker Rising.

Faith and Evidence

It isn't always as it appears to be.

Looking under the surface....

Democrats charge that the administration cooked prewar intelligence about Saddam's WMDs, even though CIA director George Tenet called the conclusion a "slam dunk" - a view shared by every Western intelligence service and the Clinton administration. And in the same breath, they are scandalized that undersecretary of defense Douglas Feith sought alternative analyses of the data on a possible Saddam-al-Qaida connection, in the face of the CIA's conclusion that secular Ba'athists and Islamists could never join forces. (And Hitler and Stalin could never have agreed to divide Poland.) President Bush, according to his critics, is being anti-empirical whether he accepts the CIA's conclusions or questions them.

Talk of an axis of evil deeply offends those whose default inclination is to assume that all men are basically rational economic actors seeking to increase material goods and pleasures. In describing radical Islam as "evil," however, Bush means that radical Islam constitutes a belief system irreconcilable with that of the West and its adherents seek to destroy the West. That seems like a fair description of reality.

Bush's understanding of the nature of the enemy, rather than any religious certitude, shapes his concern over the consequences of a perceived American defeat in Iraq: We simply cannot afford to feed the Islamist narrative of Islam ascendant. (If America first removed the Iranian nuclear threat, it could perhaps withdraw from Iraq without fueling Islamists' vision of a West on the run, but what anti-war critics would support that.)

A Mystery of Life

Can someone explain to me why it is that human teeth and gums were excluded from health care coverage?  I don't know about anyone else, but they sure seem like part of my body to me!

And - this is a travesty. 

Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.

A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.

If his mother had been insured.

If his family had not lost its Medicaid.

If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.

If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.

By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.

Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.

We are a wealthy enough nation that, some how, some way, we should do much more to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring. 

Children need to be protected.  This should not happen.

THIS Is Talent!

Do you think Mr. Mollo would be willing to learn these tricks?

Download golf_parrot.wmv

Rudy!

What's not to like?

"Over the last century, millions of people from all over the world have come to New York City," Mr. Giuliani once observed. "They didn't come here to be taken care of and to be dependent on city government. They came here for the freedom to take care of themselves." It was that spirit of opportunity and can-do-ism that Mr. Giuliani tried to reinstill in New York and that he himself exemplified not only in the hours and weeks after 9/11 but in his heroic and successful effort to bring a dying city back to life.

**********************

For Mr. Giuliani, the revival of New York started with securing public safety, because all other agendas were useless if citizens didn't feel protected. "The most fundamental of civil rights is the guarantee that government can give you a reasonable degree of safety," Mr. Giuliani said.

***********************

Although Mr. Giuliani didn't start out as a proponent of school choice, his frustration in trying to turn around a huge school system where the teachers union and the bureaucrats worked to stymie reform made him into a powerful proponent of vouchers, which he believed would force the public schools to compete for students with their private counterparts. "The whole notion of choice is really about more freedom for people, rather than being subjugated by a government system that says you have no choice about the education of your child," he said.

Giuliani's Travels

From Democrat to Republican.

And, this is what so many liberals seem unable to comprehend - but which I believe is true:

Turning serious, he said he struggled with his political identity while he was an independent.

"I would say to myself Democrats care about the poor and Republicans don't, and how can I join the party that doesn't care about the poor," Giuliani said. "I finally came to the conclusion that we care about the poor more."

Good Buy!

Forget 75% markdowns at Bloomingdales.

This is a good buy!

What If?

What if you had a hobby that you loved?  What if it gave you pleasure for decades?  What if it expanded your mental abilities and aided you in other activities in your life?  What if you gained friends from all over the world from your hobby?  What if you were fortunate enough to have dozens of people who helped you to improve over the years at your avocation, so that ultimately, you would achieve some level of expertise yourself?

Well, I don't have to imagine "what if?" - because it has all happened to me.  Creeping over the 10,000 masterpoint level and reaching my goal of Grand Life Master in the American Contract Bridge League has been an exciting ride, filled with wonderful wishes of congratulations from near and far.  (Note that I am not yet on the list, because my points were earned after the most recent posting of the GLM list.)

Yesterday, this article appeared in our local paper.  All day, I received warm congratulations from bridge players and non-bridge players alike.  My sales meeting for Colwell Banker Burnet happened to coincide with the debut of the article; my manager and peers at work made a big fuss over me, too.

An arrival of an enormous package was a truly special moment.  Late afternoon, a package almost as large as I am was delivered to my home.  Inside was a spectacular floral arrangement with a sweet note.  The card was signed "Biance and Bill"....  "Bill" was a man I dated many years ago - and a bridge buddy of mine for many more years.  "Bianca" is Bill's wife - and now, his widow.  Sadly, Bill died a few years ago from cancer.  But, Bill's incredibly smart, vivacious, generous and most thoughtful wife was sweet enough to honor me with these beautiful roses and happy tidings.  Somewhere, we do think that Bill "knows" and is smiling down at us.

I fell in love with bridge almost 30 years ago.  It captures excitement, challenge, competition, friendship, camraderie and much, much more...  the finest mind game ever invented.  While I am delighted and proud of my achievement, I am well aware that none of it would have been possible on my own.  Reaching this goal was the culmination of years of help from mentors, friends, partners, teammates, family members and my husband, Ed Carr. 

Everyone should be as blessed as I am with dear friends and an activity that is filled with so much!  Thanks for sharing this fun time with me!

The Duke LaCrosse Team

Can you stand one more story about the Duke lacrosse team?

You certainly can if it is this one.

Introducing: Sunny!

She's tiny, and with her wings clipped, she can't fly to the favorite spots available to Mr Mollo and Shelly.  Nevertheless, these few ounces of turquoise and yellow feathers are a bright addition to the household.

Attempting to transport a budgie from South Florida to frozen Minnesota seemed a bit nuts.  Nevertheless, Sunny's persistence at the pet store, combined with her verve and pep left me with no choice; I had to take her home with me! 

Eight hours on planes and at airports was not exactly a treat for either of us.  And, the first day or two at home, Sunny clearly was not welcomed by either Shelly or Mr Mo.  They definitely saw her as an intruder in their territory!

Finally, though, the Senior Resident Birdies seem to be coming around.  Sunny is entranced by the enormous and special Mr Mo.  She follows him everywhere she can; he responds imperially by deigning to not snap at her.  And Shelly is, for the first evening, sharing her cage with the junior Sunny.

We're back to a three bird community!

It Ain't Necessarily So

If you are looking for someone to tout the benefits of smoking, I am not your woman.  I've seen tobacco strike down multiple friends and family members.  I've seen people's lives affected adversely, through lung disease and heart issues.  If you want your skin to age more rapidly:  smoke.

I appeal to everyone to not smoke, or give it up if they are a smoker.  Nevertheless, when you learn more about something, you cannot deny its validity.  Nicotine does, despite its drawbacks, have its positive side.  A girlfriend of mine recently shared that smoking a few puffs when necessary helps to control her battle with ulcerative colitis.

In an article in The Times of London (9/7/93), Dr. James Le Fanu provided an examination of the research on smoking and its apparent protective effect for certain diseases. Dr. Le Fanu stated unequivocally: "Smokers have a 50 per cent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's--and the more smoked the greater the protection." He also noted that emerging research points to a similar effect of smoking on Parkinson's disease.

So striking was the apparent protective effect of smoking on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's that increasingly biomedical researchers are experimenting with nicotine to treat the symptoms of these dread disease in-patients who have been diagnosed as having them. Results from these experiments have all showed promise in alleviating the symptoms of these diseases with the administration of nicotine.

The mechanism by which the nicotine in tobacco works to protect smokers is that it increases the number of so-called "nicotinic" receptors in the brain, which in turn influence the production and release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Those who come down with Alzheimer's show a marked loss of "nicotinic" receptors in their brains and thus have reduced levels of acetylcholine, which is necessary for memory and other brain functions.

Smoking?  One more example of something that should be a choice left up to individuals. 

But Seriously, Folks

Larry Miller, comedian.

Funny - and not funny.

After September 11th, our president told us and the world he was going to root out all terrorists and the countries that supported them.

Beautiful.

Then the Israelis, after months and months of having the equivalent of an Oklahoma City every week (and then every day), start to do the same thing we did, and we tell them to show restraint.

If America were being attacked with an Oklahoma City every day, we would all very shortly be screaming for the administration to just be done with it and kill everything south of the Mediterranean and east of the Jordan.

Got 'Em

My few days in Houston were fairly productive.  In a tough field, our team ended up tied for 3/4 in two events.  In a third one session event, we won.  (After I left, my team won - somehow, heh heh heh - without me.)  Since this was a quite large tournament, the events "paid" lots of points.  And - they were enough to send me over 10,000 ACBL masterpoints.

If you earn this number of points, and have a national event, then the title of Grand Life Master is bestowed upon you.  Since I now have enough points and two titles - I am a GLM.  Out of roughly 157,000 members in the North American Bridge League, there are about 220 living GLM's.  In Minnesota, only two other players have in excess of 10,000 points, and neither of them have a national title.  It should be noted, though - one player, Jim Hall, does have two second places in very prestigious events:  the Reisinger Teams and the Men's B-A-M teams.  Honestly; both of my wins pale in contrast to Jim's achievement.  No one for a second should think my record superior to that of Jim.

But - in any case, I am very pleased to have crossed over this milestone in my bridge career!  No one does it alone.  I have a long list of truly wonderful mentors, partners, teammates and friends who have made it possible for me to get where I am.  My family's support, too - especially my husband, Ed Carr, meant the world.

Thanks everyone!  And - YAY!!!

For A Good Reason

My apologies for light blogging this week.  Lots of work keeping me busy; a welcome respite from the painful real estate market we've had for months.

And, this week finds me in Houston (a welcome respite from also painful weather conditions in Minnesota!) playing bridge at a large tournament.  My teammates are all of the female persuasion, including my partner, one Jenny Ryman.  Jenny is a young Swedish woman, now living with her new husband, professional player Gavin Wolpert, in New York City.  A little over a year ago, Jenny and Gavin won the most prestigious pair event on the North American tournament calendar, the Blue Ribbon Pairs.  Many top players compete an entire lifetime and never win this grueling event.  That Jenny and Gavin did it at such tender ages is testament to their fine abilities.

Jenny and I had never played previously in Real Life.  Yet, we seem to be getting along swimmingly.  That a fiftysomething (oh my Lord; how did that happen?!) middle aged woman and a 21 year old model-like looking Swede could meet and strike up a partnership and a friendship is but one more example of how expansive the game of bridge really is.  It bridges generations, class, race, nationality, physical condition and more.

Sometimes, I think that if far more of the world learned bridge and competed together, many more world problems could be solved!  Tough to hate your friends at the bridge table.

And - with that, I shall return to both bridge and work!

 

Hillary and Chavez

On the same page; wanting to confiscate private property, for they know better what to do with it than we do.

Today?  Exxon's oil profits.  Tomorrow?  Who knows?

She might be in your bank account....

Op/Ed Escapee

David Strom alerted me to this opinion piece masquerading as a hard news story.

House approves $463.5B spending bill

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 31, 3:57 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The House passed a $463.5 billion spending bill Wednesday that covers about one-sixth of the federal budget as Democrats cleared away the financial mess they inherited from Republicans.

Before the 286-140 vote, Republicans made modest objections to Democrats' spending decisions but protested greatly over how the new majority muscled the measure through the House.

Anyone wonder why more and more people are turning up their noses at subscribing to newspapers?  I mean, if this idiots cannot even manage to deliver the news without inserting their own sermons into them.....